Endoscopic surgical techniques (defined herein to include laparoscopic, thoracoscopic and arthroscopic) are becoming widely accepted by the medical profession. The utilization of endoscopic surgical procedures has eliminated the need for radical incisions into the fascia and musculature of a patient in order to access a particular internal part of the patient's body. In a typical endoscopic procedure, trocars are typically inserted into the body to penetrate through to body cavities, such as the abdominal cavity. The trocars typically consist of two primary components, the first of which is an elongated piercing instrument, known as an obturator. The trocar assembly also contains a trocar cannula in which the trocar obturator is housed. The trocar cannula remains in the body cavity after the trocar obturator is removed and serves as a pathway to and from the body cavity.
Various types of endoscopic instruments may be inserted through the trocar cannula pathway, including endoscopes, stapling apparatuses, cutting and ligating apparatuses, and the like. As in most surgical procedures, it is frequently necessary to suture various tissue sites within the body which are the subject of an endoscopic surgical procedure. Accordingly, various types of endoscopic suture devices such as suture and cannula assemblies have been developed to satisfy this need.
It is essential that the endoscopic suture devices be packaged in such a manner that the devices are protected during shipping, handling, and, of course, during sterilization procedures. Many conventional sutures tend to have memories due to the nature of the materials from which they are made. A suture made from such a suture material, which becomes shifted in its package during sterilization, shipping, handling, etc., will typically tend to retain a resulting distorted shape, possibly making the suture device unusable for an endoscopic surgical procedure. In addition, it is important that the endoscopic suture device be easily removable from a package in an operating room without damaging the suture and cannula or compromising its sterility. In addition, since a packaged endoscopic suture device is typically placed into a plastic overwrap envelope prior to sterilization, it is critical that the plastic overwrap be protected from the cannula to prevent punctures and tears. Once the plastic overwrap is punctured or torn, the sterility of the endoscopic device is compromised and the device must typically be disposed of since it cannot be resterilized in a hospital environment.
What is needed in this art are packages for endoscopic suture devices which are easy and economical to manufacture and which protect the devices during shipping, sterilization and handling and which further prevent the devices from shifting in the package.